Neal Martin leaves WA FOR VINOUS

Celebrated Wine Critic Neal Martin Joins Vinous as Senior Editor
Departs from Robert Parker Wine Advocate to cover Bordeaux,
Burgundy, South Africa and New Zealand

New York, NY – 11/20/17 –Vinous, the world-renowned wine publication, is proud to announce that Neal Martin, the lead critic at Robert Parker Wine Advocate and one of the most recognized names in wine writing, is joining the Vinous team as a Senior Editor. “I have admired Neal’s passion, dedication, work ethic, talent and knowledge since I first met him in 2006, when we both worked alongside Robert Parker,” said Vinous CEO and founder, Antonio Galloni. “Neal brings to Vinous a unique combination of experience and wit that I am sure our readers will greatly enjoy. I am thrilled to be working alongside Neal once again.”

Starting February 2018, Neal Martin will add his incredible breadth of knowledge to Vinous’ roster of superstar wine critics that already includes Galloni, Stephen Tanzer, Josh Raynolds, Ian D’Agata and David Schildknecht. Vinous brings together the most trusted voices in wine writing and delivers their views to a global audience in a continual, daily stream of articles that breaks free from the constraints of traditional print media. In addition to reading Neal Martin’s reviews on the Vinous website, readers will be able to find his perspective on the Delectable wine app (which was acquired by Vinous in 2016), alongside over 5 million user ratings.

Neal Martin will cover the wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, South Africa and New Zealand. With the addition of Martin to the team, Vinous will offer readers unprecedented insight into the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, both of which will be jointly covered by two leading authorities in wine. Martin and Galloni will each write separate, independent reports on the wines of Bordeaux, including en primeur, new releases from bottle, top value picks, and verticals and vintage retrospectives. Similarly, Neal Martin and Steve Tanzer will both cover Burgundy.

“Life should be about exploring possibilities. The prospect of joining Vinous raised so many that it was impossible to resist being a part of a truly world-class team,” said Martin. “I look forward to bringing my twenty years as a wine professional to Vinous and helping to shape its future as its next chapter opens. Palate and pen are primed and ready for action.”

This should be interesting. I wonder who will take over Bordeaux and Burgundy?

WOW – fascinating.

Antonio has assembled a great team…

Just got this email from Vinous. Interesting.

What is left at the Wine Advocate?

Sound and fury signifying nothing.

RIP Wine Advocate.

“Martin and Galloni will each write separate, independent reports on the wines of Bordeaux, including en primeur, new releases from bottle, top value picks, and verticals and vintage retrospectives. Similarly, Neal Martin and Steve Tanzer will both cover Burgundy.”

Great approach…

Several of those areas are Tanzer’s spots. I wonder if he’s working towards semi-retirement.

I think it’s fascinating that two people each will cover Bordeaux and Burgundy. It really signals a shift away from a publication’s reviews to a reviewer’s reviews. I wonder how far apart (or close together) they will be.

Pretty cool that they will have 2 people review each spot- I like the contrast

No bone to pick. Miss Bob. Jeb’s currently got my interest.

It’s been on life support for a while, but this exodus has to hurt. Neal has solid credibility in Bordeaux. WA is dead.

WA>Vinous in terms of world wide influence still. I doubt that changes anytime soon.

Cancelled my subscription. Love what Vinous is doing and think the new approach is fantastic. Should be interesting!

I like Neal but the problem is that the model is pretty much dead. Nobody is waiting to price their wine until some lead critic opines. And it’s unlikely that such a critic will ever exist again - there are too many competing voices. Still, it’s interesting that Neal took a hike, given that at least WA seems to have some reasonably solid financing now that Michelin owns part of it. Must have really disliked the management? I wonder if they try to hire Burghound or some other PN guy.

Not an AG fan at all but this is a great move.

Not sure how you can say this. Have you tried to buy 2013 Burlotto Monvigliero? 2013 Bartolo Mascarello or G. Rinaldi? I’ve been buying all these for years. Now with Antonio’s scores, they are $300 or more and still hard to find.

After I got the email, I cancelled my WA subscription. He was the only one left who I looked forward to reading.

I don’t think the case of the reviewer ‘moving markets’ is quite done yet - retailers and consumers still do look toward certain reviewers - or now publications - to guide their purchases at times. Not sure about Bordeaux in this country but I guess we’ll see.

The big question - was Neal unhappy at WA and wanted out or did Antonio make him an offer he couldn’t refuse?

Cheers.

Maybe Leve’s time has come.